The 2019 golf season got into full swing two weeks ago, and the Zephyrs made sure they would put a checkmark on the plus side of the ledger.

Whitehall faced off against three Eastern Pennsylvania Conference foes as Nazareth, Freedom and Bethlehem Catholic kicked off the new season at Woodstone Country Club on Aug. 15.

The Zephyrs emerged from that quad match 1-2, shooting 512 for their round. That placed them third among the four teams as Nazareth won the match with a 398, followed by Freedom shooting a 508, and finally the Golden Hawks at 549.

A.J. Capille shot a 94 to lead the Zephs. Kevin Landis shot a 101, while Cody Suhaka shot a 103. The final two scores tallied that day were Kevin Foster’s 106 and Kristine Landis’ 108.

With their players evenly bunched together during the round, they almost ducked past the Blue Eagles who bested them by four strokes. Still, head coach John Conrad said that their win over the Golden Hawks accomplished one of their goals that they identified this season.

“Each year we’re looking for that signature win and beat a team that we haven’t beat before, and in the seven years I’ve been coaching we’ve never beaten Bethlehem Catholic, so it was nice to do that,” said Conrad. Conrad said that their first three matches to begin the season where they played at Woodstone, Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort, and Brookside Country Club are three of the tougher courses in the area, letting his players know that “they got through the gauntlet.”

At Shawnee they competed against Parkland, Stroudsburg and Pocono Mountain East, while at Brookside they went head-to-head against Emmaus. While they weren’t able to notch a win in those matches, he said that they gained a lot of experience playing against good teams at challenging golf courses.

Conrad said that his players are putting in the time needed to improve, and believes they’ll eventually reap the rewards.

“The kids are working hard,” said Conrad. “Even off the off days, there are kids who told me that they just had a lesson. They’re into it and they want to get better. Hopefully, that continues to happen each match.”

Conrad said that he’s seen that improvement from their first match at Woodstone, noting a couple of players were able to shave off some strokes.

With the first three courses in the books, the Zephyrs are 1-6 heading into this week. They began this week on their home course, hosting Liberty, East Stroudsburg North and Pocono Mountain West.